Historical Context: In both the Civil War and World War II, new technologies were coming into fruition that would change the strategies implemented in the wars. In the Civil War this technology was the railroad. The railroad was the product of the Industrial Revolution, a time in which machinery and technology were making huge bounds. The first successful steam locomotive was invented by Richard Trevithick in 1804, and improvements were quickly made, with Robert Stephenson's Rocket reaching a top speed of 28 miles per hour, with several new technologies such as multiple boiler tubes and a blastpipe which pull air through the fire. Railroads proliferated in Great Britain and the United States, and by the 1850s, railroads in the US had been standardized with official gauges and grades. This meant that by the Civil War, Railroads were able to connect most of the eastern half of the United States. The north, however, had many more railroads than the south because of its higher density of industry. This would result in railroads becoming strategically important in the war since they would be used to transport troops and supplies. 

     In World War II, the new technology of the day was the airplane. Heavier-than-air flight had been striven for since the late 1800s, and the Wright Brothers sccessfully tested the first airplane, the Flyer in 1903, and they saw extremely rapid development. The first airline was put into service in 1914, and by 1927 Charles Lindbergh was able to fly solo and unassisted across the Atlantic Ocean. Aircraft quickly became capable of carrying heavy loads over long distances. However, strategists in the military were slow to see the potential in airplanes. In 1911, a French military strategist, Ferdinand Foch, said that airplanes are "interesting toys, but of no military value." Only a few years later, Foch was a commander in World War I, which saw limited use of aircraft in reconnaissance. Aircraft became major avenues of battle by World War II. 

Compare and Contrast:     In both cases the entry of new technology into the war led to changes in strategy. Both technologies meant that troops could be put in place faster, and faraway garrisons could be supplied with cargo trains and supply drops. Several Civil war campaigns by both the north and the south were undertaken in order to secure railroad lines or destroy key stretches of railroad that the enemy was using to transport soldiers and supply garrisons. Some military commanders sent scouts on trains in order to scope out the terrain ahead, and railroads were aslo usesd to move information to headquarters. Similarly in World War II, aircraft served dozens of purposes in the war, from transporting troops and equipment to scouting out enemy ground movements and bombing all kinds of targets such as dams, factories, and also railroads. The newly perfected technology of aircraft helped to bring damage straight over the fronts on land and drop right on to the important cities of Nazi Germany. Similarly, cannon were mounted on trains in the Civil War, where they could be moved into position to shell the enemy from behind their supposed lines. Also in both cases, the main strategy against the use of these new technologies was blocking their method of travel. The main strategy against railroads was obvious, to destroy tracks. During the March to the Sea, Union soldiers pulled up tracks and made them in to "Sherman's Neckties" by heating them until they were soft and bending them around tree trunks.

Strategists in World War II also sought to limit the flights of aircraft. Much more resources were put into closing off airways in the sky with air bases and anti-aircraft flak guns. In many cases, the air war took precedece over the ground war, with soldiers on the ground supported by aircraft, and many infantry missins were undertaken in order to secure the enemy's AA guns so that bombers would be able to fly over unimpeded. The strategic bombing of the war also became the primary way to attack the enemy's resources. While some ground forces and Resistance movements destroyed railroads and factories on the ground, a majority of the destruction of the war was accomplished with thousnads of tons of bombs dropped round the clock. Aircraft also played a huge role in the pacific theater because of their ability to fly thousands of miles nonstop. The B-29 Superfortress had a range of over 3000 miles while carrying a full load of ordnance. This allowed for the island-hopping campaign where we would go from island to island across the Pacific, building air bases on each one all the way until we were next to Japan.

The major difference in these new technologies was te msagnitude of their ipact on the war. While railroads in the Civil War played a vital role in  ving troos and even some attacks, they were primarily operated behind the front lines. All of the battles in the civil war were still fought on foot and on horses. Aircraft, however, served a completely novel purpose and truly created otal war. Before airplanes, locations away from the front went virtually untouched, as getting to them would require fighting back the enemy's entire force. With aircraft, this was no longer the case. Thousands of tons of bombs could be droped on targets thousands of miles from the front line. This forced strategists to change their plans greatly in order to protect manufacturing and cities tha had earlier not needed any protection. This, in turn, required more troops helping to make World War II the enormous undertaking that it was.

Works Cited

Koenig, Alan R. "Railroad's Critical Role in the Civil War." Railroad's Critical Role in the Civil War. Web. 30 May 2012. http://www.historynet.com/railroads-critical-role-in-the-civil-war.htm.

"Sherman's Neckties." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 19 Apr. 2012. Web. 30 May 2012. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sherman's_neckties.

[Image]  WW II Bombing Raids Impacted England's Weather | TopNews New Zealand." WW II Bombing Raids Impacted England's Weather | TopNews New Zealand. Web. 30 May 2012. http://topnews.net.nz/content/216544-ww-ii-bombing-raids-impacted-englands-weather.

"MaryAmbler." MaryAmbler. Web. 30 May 2012. <http://www.amblermainstreet.org/Ambler_ThenAndNow/MaryAmbler.htm>.